With Katie Gach’s 1-year-old daughter cooing in the background, the University of Colorado Ph.D. student tried to calculate Tuesday morning how much income she would lose if a proposed Republican tax plan overhaul passed in Congress.
Gach’s anxiety stemmed from embattled legislation GOP officials are touting as simplifying the tax code. The House passed its version of the plan earlier this month.
Democrats, supported by an analysis by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office, argue the Senate bill would negatively impact many low- and middle-income Americans while bolstering the wealthy.
One group stunned by the loss of tax deductions under the proposed plan: graduate students.
“It would be the equivalent of two months of income that I would have to pay in taxes if this goes through,” Gach said. “And keep in mind, that’s taxing me on money that I literally never see.”
Qualified graduate students such as Gach, who serve as teaching and research assistants, currently get college tuition waived for their contributions as a tax-exempt benefit. The House bill would tax this tuition waiver, which is money that never actually hits the students’ bank accounts.
Read the full story at DailyCamera.com.